India says its carbon emissions not harming world

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India says its carbon emissions not harming world

By Nita BhallaThu Dec 14, 8:43 AM ET

 

India, considered to be one of the world's top polluters, said on Thursday that

it was not doing any harm to the world's atmosphere despite increasing emissions

of greenhouse gases.

 

Experts say unchecked greenhouse gas emissions could see global temperatures

rise by 2-3 degrees Celsius in the next 50 years and could result in devastating

climate change.

 

While India is not required under the Kyoto Protocol to cut emission levels at

this stage, experts say its emissions are rising due to its rapid economic

development and could become a significant contributor to global warming.

 

But the country's environment minister told parliament India's emissions were

insignificant compared to those of richer nations which should take the lead in

curbing greenhouse gases.

 

" India is very little in terms of emissions and we are not the biggest polluters

when compared to the developed nations, " said Environment Minister A. Raja.

 

" We are not doing any harm to the entire world. We are, in spite of the

developmental activities taking place in this country, very categorical that our

emissions are below three percent which is within limits, " he said, referring to

India's percentage contribution to total global emissions.

 

According to a World Bank survey in May, carbon emissions from two of the

world's fastest growing economies, China and India, rose steeply over the past

decade.

 

India increased carbon dioxide emissions by 33 percent between 1992 and 2002,

said the bank's " Little Green Data Book, " a survey of mankind's global

environmental impact.

 

New Delhi says it must use more energy to lift its population from poverty and

that its per-capita emissions are a fraction of those in rich states which have

burnt fossil fuels unhindered since the Industrial Revolution.

 

But environmentalists say India does not need to invest in carbon-intensive

industries.

 

" We understand that the country is on a development path and that India still

needs to provide energy to much of its population, " said K. Srinivas, climate

and energy campaigner for Greenpeace India.

 

" But that doesn't mean we need to rely on primary sources of energy like coal to

do that. There are so many other sources of renewable energy which we should be

focusing more on. "

 

According to figures from the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, the top five

sources of greenhouse gases were the United States, China, Russia, India and

Japan.

 

The United States' per-capita greenhouse emissions were 24 tonnes based on 2004

data. China was 4 tonnes and India 2 tonnes based on 2000 data, the secretariat

said.

 

India's annual emissions were growing about 2-3 percent, said Srinivas.

 

The Indian subcontinent is expected to be one of the most seriously affected

regions in the world by global warming, which will mean more frequent and more

severe natural disasters such as floods and droughts, more disease and poor crop

yields.

 

Officials say India is taking steps to use energy more efficiently and is

curbing the use of pollutants which harm the atmosphere, but it needs more

financial resources and the transfer of new technologies to achieve this.